'F1 needs drivers to be heroes' - Horner

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says Formula One is at its best when the drivers come across as heroes and the teams and politics stay out of view.

Formula One has faced criticism this season for not providing enough of a show for fans, with further concerns raised by poor attendances at some races and plans to pursue new events in controversial locations. However, Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix provided a thrilling spectacle with four drivers in contention until the final few laps and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo finally coming out on top.

For all the talk of revamping the sport, including plans for a summit meeting over the August break to thrash out ideas, Horner believes the recipe for success is still quite simple.

"When we focus on the racing we have got a great sport," he said. "Formula One needs to be about the drivers being the heroes, and today they were. That's Formula One at its best - not just this weekend but last weekend [in Germany] as well.

"That's what I enjoy, that's what I love to see and that's all part of competition. We need to keep going down that direction."

Asked why drivers do not come across as heroes, Horner added: "Sometimes it feels like the races are a bit to managed. But in conditions like today. just look at [Fernando] Alonso and how fantastic he was today and [Lewis] Hamilton coming from the back of the grid and Daniel making his strategy work, passing around the outside and doing incredible things.

"I need to watch that race again to understand it all, but that's what Formula One is all about. We need to allow the drivers to be able to express themselves more without being criticised. We need to allow their personalities to come out. They have opinions and they've got personalities, we should encourage them to see some of them."